Yasmeen
Jumani has been a teacher Educator for the past 11 years.
She has done her Masters in Islamic History from the University
of Karachi. She has a Master in Education from Hamdard
University, Institute of Education and Social Sciences, A VT
certificate from AKU-IED along with an advance diploma in (PTEP)
Professional Teacher Education Program from IIS and AKU- IED.

Being
a teacher, I know it is very important to engage students in learning at all
stages. However, many students' attention have a limited span especially
in the secondary classes; they fed up and get bored quickly
comparative to those in other age levels. It has also verified that after 8
minutes of constant speaking, listeners can be frustrated
to stay alert until the end. Therefore,it is very important for
teachers of all levels to
enhance students retention power as much as possible because low
energy levelswon’t allow
students to take interest in teaching, learning, and performing tasks
effectively.

A passionate teacher always keeps this in mind that children of any age
require fulltime engagement. This can be done through various means by
bringing innovative teaching strategies into the classroom. As Christensen,
Garvin & Sweet mentioned, “To
teach is to engage students in Learning.”
However, the engagement
of students is possible in various ways. Thus there should be
some way forward to keep our classes lively and interactive. The
following
are some of the practical “Tips” where teachers could help their
students to enjoy learning:

It is
healthier to start our class with a ' Recap' activity; this would help
learners tolink with
the learned concept as a “reinforcement”

It would
be more appropriate to highlight key terminologies on the board
with some visual designs. As a result, students could learn that piece of
information with some sort of symbols up visually for a longer time.

Often,
front- seated students get more of the teacher's attention, while
those sitting in the back have less of a chance to get the teacher’s
eye contact. Therefore, seating arrangements should keep
on changing accordingly.

It would
be more appropriate to relate ideas with student’s practical
life where they can find suitable and meaningful connections and
relate learning with practicality.

Whateverdiscussionsor
information is shared among students in aclass byteachers,
we can instruct students to describe learningin their own words, pictures, rhyme, poems, or in
some way related with any metaphor.

While
distributingnotes,
or marking answers from the book,
if the teacher just highlights the
key points, that willalsoenable students torelate
and recall some on the
major points.

Taking
notes is also a good strategy to remember about the class events;
therefore encourage students to take notes.

Once a
while the teacher cangive
several topics to the class and instruct themto work in
groups/pairs and present information in their own words (this
will be the greatest help
for them)

The
teacher’s
own motivation and enthusiasm can play significant role.

Often it
seems that teachers assign a task after delivering the lecture. If
this proposed assignment can be mentioned
before initiating the lecture, I believe students would pay most
of their attention throughout class, knowing they have to
perform their role after the session.

As
teachers, it’s necessary to keep on changing our strategies as
needed, because monotonous ways don’t attract learners; hence
we should also look for new methods and strategies in regard to pedagogical
aspect (how to deliver the content).

After
the end of the session/lesson, teachers may ask students about
“the learning of today” which will help them to recall and
rethink.

If
two- way communications take place, student’s retention and
interaction power can be increased easily.

Parental Involvement Through
'In-Class Support Program'

By:
YASMEEN JUMANI

“The
school will teach children how to read, but the environment of the
home must teach them what to read. The school can teach them how to
think, but the home must teach them what to believe”.-
Charles A. Wells

The
child
is the center of any educational setting where curriculum, teachers,
infrastructure all revolved around him or her. The physical structure
in any educational setting is one of the major means where learning
takes place. Curriculum is another facet accessible for every teacher,
further translated accordingly in the form of prescribed text books
and other supplementary reference material. Teachers perform
their role as facilitator, trying to achieve their targets throughout
the academic year.

The
above mentioned chain could be figured out very easily in any
educational system through a top down approach or bottom up method,
and outcomes may be observed very easily. The formal school structure
has been now rigorously experiencing the unwillingness of parental
involvement and only for this reason, the practical dimension of
curriculum could not even be achieved. This vulnerable aspect is now
becoming an educationaldilemma
especially during the in-class
support time which indicates that parents are no doubt aware
of their children's day to day school activity but actually
don’t even know whetherlearning
is taking place or how
they could becomethe
real partner of their children in the entire educational world.

The
statute defines parental involvement as "the participation of
parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving
student academic learning and other school activities, including
ensuring that parents play an integral role in assistingtheir child’s learning; that parents are encouraged to be
actively involved in their child’s education at school; [and] that
parents are full partners in their child’s education and are
included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory
committees to assist in the education of their child. …” (A-1)

The
formal schooling is not sufficient to decide what and where a child
would be in the near future and the entire responsibilities cannot be
put on the school system only because each classroom contains a mixed
ability group of learners, and teacher(s) usually deal with individual
differences. Only parents are the key mediators whose involvement and
induction help teachers to deal children with specific needs and sort
out solutions of any pertinent impediment. The reason behind is that
parents understand their children best because they usually spend more
time with them and that’s why through their on-time
support, children learning ability and class participation can
flourish and foster.As
Stenhouse mentioned (1977, p.3) “The
central problem of curriculum study is the gap between our ideas and
inspiration and our attempts to institutionalized them.’’ This indicates that parents are the ones whocan
play a vital role in their children’s learning and minimize the gap
between curriculum and child’s understanding. Hence this partnership
will also determine how a taught curriculum should practice in the
home environment where children could further complement their
learning through the practical dimension of education with their
parent’s support.

the
child is placed in a center of a triangle; certainly curriculum,
parents, and teachers would be the three vertices which are
interconnected, and this triangle functions as a scaffold.
Without of one of these, the figure of a child is seen incomplete.Educationists strongly suggest that appropriate measures must
be required for a school system to induct parents in the system.
Also we need to educate our parents about the underpinning of the
curriculum and what outcomes must be catering through their support."The
child pulls parents and teachers together, but without the help of one
another, parents and teachers pull the child apart.” Debora
Tinnin

Education
is a continuous process and allows all stakeholders to strengthen
their connectivity with education as a lifelong learner. Hence
involvement in children’s education is again a golden chance for
parents to update and enhance their learning and understanding about
new modes and perspectives through their children’s eye. Thus there
are numbers of benefits of parental involvement when schools work
together with families to support learning,
and children tend to succeed not just in school, but throughout life
(Source: The Parent Institute)

Moreover
there are many ways through which parental involvement could be
strengthened in our school system. Not only is it prudent to call
parents in parent-teachers meetings (PTM) but
in parents conferenceswhere
parents coulddiscuss the
educationalissuesof
theirchildren and seek
for the solution. Also the home assignment is the best way that their
involvement can be observed clearly. However, it’s important
to see how children could be facilitated during this process. There
are some other occasions where every school manager could invite
parents to supervise the co-curricular activities which could be a
great incentive for both children and parents. If parents get involved
in helping teachers in preparing low -cost and other teaching resourcematerial,
it will be an additional means
of support from parents to engage themselves in theirchild
‘s learning andassess the
learning that is occurring. A school could initiate the services
of professional parents by engaging them in yearly /annual activities
such as debate, art, drama, speech and other competitions. ‘Parent
day’ is one more innovation where the rich diversity of expression
could be celebrated and promoted collegiality.

Research
indicates that the most accurate predictor of a student’s
achievement in school is not income or social status, but the extent
the student’s family is able to:

1.
Create a home environment that encourages learning.

2. Express high and realistic expectations for their children’s
achievement and future careers.

3. Become involved in their children’s education at school and in
the community.

(Source:
www.cde.state.co.us - Strengthening Parent Involvement)

Research
clearly shows that those parents who are been involvedin teaching learning process, theirchildren shown remarkable interest in studies and day to day
activities.Moreover a
culture of respect, trust and ownership could be commenced through
parent’s indication in education which will further assure the
ongoing progress of child learning’s.

Finally,
it is up to the parent
whether they wantto
participate intheirchildren’s
learning on a seasonal-based approach by attending a Parent Teacher
Meeting andsigning the
report card only, or if they are really keen tosee the difference in their children bypartakingin
the classroom as a reason based approach. The U.S. Secretary of
Education mentioned, “Parents are children’s first and most
influential teachers. By reading to children or having them read to
us, by making sure homework is done, by monitoring television use, by
knowing how children spend their time, parents can have a powerfully
positive effect on their children’s learning”.

Teaching is a conscious activity where
one has to deal with diverse individuals at the same time. Though on
the one hand, it seems pleasant to deal with different groups of
learners, but on the other hand, it requires quick decision-making
ability from teachers/facilitators to deal with lots of difficult and
complex situations emerge during interaction hence, it leads to
reflective teaching.

Dewey (1933) defines reflection as
“…active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or
practice…”As teachers, we can reflect on classroom decisions and
events; reflection also involves the emotional, passionate, and
intuitive side of teaching therefore, reflective practice in teaching
necessarily encompasses critical self-evaluation, which can be
difficult at times.

Reflective teaching though is an
approach but it is more than an attitude, which requires constant
thinking and questioning of our own set beliefs, assumptions,
judgments, prejudices, emotions and feelings related to world around
us. Pollard (1979) says, “Reflective teaching is important as the
process through which ascending levels of competence, in whatever
sphere can be developed. Reflective practices will help to develop
beyond this”

In modern teaching, a reflective
practice is indeed a relevant notion that enables a good teacher to
learn while teaching, and through his /her reflections, s/he gains
experience into learning.

Reflection can be done individually,
interactively, or situational wise, following steps are involved in
the process of reflective practice:

Reflect
on the situation

Identify
the current practices

Challenge
existing beliefs and practices

Explore
alternatives

Mediate
with context

Make
choices

Act
on it

And
the cycle continues

Above-mentioned steps are the
ladder towards becoming a reflective teacher. This can be filled
through maintaining reflective journals, on- going discussions, class
room observations and conversations. Besides that, we would be able to
challenge our own existing practices by knowingour
selves and then in the light of discussion we could further accept
the arguments as a challenge that enable us to take new initiatives
in the light of said discussions that motivate us towardsstrive
forachievingour goal.

Another model of Reflective practice proposed by Cunningham Florez’
(2001) as follows:

Consider
how the situation could have been different – examine
alternatives to teacher behaviour and choices and beliefs behind
classroom teacher behaviour

Create
a plan to incorporate new insights.

Reflective teaching allows
practitionersforpersonal and professional growth. It
enables them to improve on –going practice and understand it better.
It assists them to do things right and be able to justify their
actions. Besides that, it allows learners to become creative and
innovative. It promotes mutual understanding and encourages sense of
responsibility within participants. It also helps practitioners to
articulate their thinking clearly. It helps to develop the capacity to
imagine and explore alternatives to existing ways of thinking and
living. Thus, it adds value in our own teaching

Teaching
is a conscious activity where one has to deal with diverse individuals
at a time. However, it seems pleasant to deal with a different group of
learners but it requires skilled ability and quick decision-making from
facilitators to deal with series of difficulties and complexities
emerged during interaction. Consequently, it brings in reformation and
improvement in any activity in which students and teachers are engaged
in. Thus, this whole process enables the teacher to become a
reflective teacher who takes action(s) to improve the situations and
processes to make learning meaningful.

Reflective
teaching is an approach which requires constant thinking i.e.
questioning our own beliefs, assumptions, judgments, prejudices,
emotions and feelings encountered during the process of teaching and
learning. According to Carson(1990), “Action
Research is a combination of both action and research. It is an attempt
to more fully understands our educational practices in order that we may
act in ways that may bring about, both, improvement and understanding.
Moreover, Action Research is a
small-scale intervention in the functioning of the real world and a
close examination of the effects of such intervention(s)”.

The
most important feature of action research is that it is concerned
with immediate solution through intervention which
means that throughout the process, it emphasizes
a systematic approach to taking actions, critically reflects on planned
actions, and observes the impact in both the cases either positive or
negative.

Purposes:

Action
research is a package of instant solutions, which assists practitioners
to remedy
problems diagnosed in specific situations, or improves in some way with
a given set of circumstances. It
is a means of in-service training and development, to equip teachers
with new skills and methods, sharpening their analytical powers, and
heightening their self-awareness. Furthermore, it encourages learners to
inject additional or innovatory approaches to teaching and learning on
an ongoing basis.

Significance:

Action
research is a key to success where practical concerns of people are
known in immediate problematic situation that motivates practitioners as
a valuable source of knowledge regarding their practices where they
explore issues of mutual interest and concerns through self-reflective
inquiry. Also, it enables them to improve rationality and justice in
their own practice and establishes a reflective, problem-solving mindset
among practitioners. In short, Action Research is an opportunity that
exists for bringing professionalism and efficacy.

How
I became an Action Researcher of Ta’lim Curriculum? A Case
Study

During
the second episode of myProfessional
Teacher Educator Program, one of my assignments was to conduct an action
research in one of the School/RECs in Karachi. I spent almost 23
contact hours and delivered three different lessons with various
strategies to become familiar with the setting and learners’ needs.

In
the words of Kemmis and
McTaggart, 1988, "Action Research is a form of collective
self-reflective inquiry undertaken by participants in social situations
in order to improve rational practices, as well as their own social or
educational practices and the situations in which the practices are
carried out”.

Context
of the Study

After
seeking the familiarity, I crystallized my choice and focused only on
the book 3 of the Primary V titled “Opening windows on Allah’s
creation”. The total contact sessions were 23 that were held 3 days in
a week for more than 2 months. There were 18 registered students with
two teachers, one teacher known as class teacher and another was
assistant-teacher. All the sessions i.e. classes were held in the big
hall where almost 12 to 13 other classes were simultaneously
running at the same time.

Area
of Study

My
area of study was: “How
to assist students in articulating the key messages of Ta’lim (P5 book
3) and relating with their practical lives”?

The
proposed issue of this action research was very pertinent for me to
ensure how the key messages of Ta’lim should be translated at the
level of the students; as I have been pondering upon this issue for
quite a long time and also raised in many forums and training programs.
While seeking the opportunity for the field work I chose to explore this
emerging issue with Action Research Model.

Upon
finalization of School/REC, I met with the whole administration and
shared the purpose and objectives of my action research. The approach is
important in action research that is known as emancipatory
i.e. the process is not hierarchical; rather all people concerned are
equal participants
contributing to the inquiry.

Being
a researcher, it was very important for me to be familiar with the
existing educational context where teaching learning is taking place and
to build relation with the stakeholders and especially the class
teacher. During my initial observations, I observed various things and
shared my feedback with the class teacher accordingly. I felt these
observations would certainly allow me to situate myself better as an
inquirer and alert me as observer. This approach is called participative
and collaborative which is the most significant characteristic of an
action research where the researcher is not considered an outside expert
conducting an enquiry with subjects, but a co-worker doing
research with and for the people concerned with the practical problem
and its actual improvement.

However,
in this study, I was involved as a teacher as well as researcher;
throughout the process class, teacher’s reflections about my teaching,
students’ participation, behavior, and performances were of paramount
importance. As a teacher, I prepared and developed lesson plans,
educational forms, and arrangement of teaching learning material and
resources, to implementing the curriculum in the class and evaluate
student’s performances. As a researcher, I involved in collecting and
analyzing the data that appeared in daily transactions and finally
developing patterns to collate all my findings in a report.

The
following is the rationale to select the role:

ØGetting
first hand information about teaching learning process at a particular
School/REC.

ØPersonal
realization of the issues and challenges of teaching and implementation
the curriculum in real classroom situation.

After
careful study of action research approach and being acquainted with
this, I internalize the action research cycle and then responded
above-mentioned areas one-by-one as mentioned below.

Model
of Action Research Cycle

1.
Plan
Problem Analysis and Strategic Planning

2.
Action
Implementation of the Strategic Plan

3.
Observation Evaluation by appropriate methods and
techniques

4.
Reflection On results of
evaluation and the action itself
a. Identification of the new problem
b. New cycle of planning, action, observation,
and reflection

Before
initiated action research teaching in the class, I took two unstructured
observations, where I came to know that students’ involvement and
participation is less that required to be increased. During the
observations, my findings informed me that because of teacher-centered
approach with controlled behavior teachers could not seek maximum
participation of students. Thus, I worked on it, brought in discussion
strategy, and plan my lessons that required participation from students.

At
the completion of action research, the class teacher reflected as
following:

“My
teaching method before coming of Yasmeen to my class was to read the
lesson. My method was not so much activity-based. My strategy was a
teacher not facilitator”

The pedagogical approaches suggested in Ta’lim are students-centered
that enable them to partake in the process, which is embodied in
constructivism (Jonassen, Peok and Wilson 1999)

On the other hand, the constructivism rests on the notion that instead
of absorbing or passively receiving knowledge that is ‘out there’,
Learners actively construct knowledge by integrating new information and
experiences into what they have reconciled it with this new.
(Billett1996)

The pedagogy that are based on the constructivist theory such as class
discussion, group presentation, project work, etc. are supportive in
stimulating students’ creativity and fostering their learning.
Throughout the process, my teaching approach was based on constructivism
where teaching strategies such as think-pair-share, group presentation,
role-play, creative writing were commonly used. Initially students faced
difficulties in sharing their views therefore in my initial lesson plans
dated October 2nd5thand 9th
, 2007, I intentionally placed some of theactivities that could help students to come up with their own
ideas, and thinking, later on their involvement became the part &
parcel of my teaching.

My
critical partner (CP) shared her thoughts regarding the above:

“Firstly,
in her teaching, she used much pedagogy that made it easier for students
to learn that building a base of your students before starting any
chapter is important for their full involvement”.

I was successful in bringing students’ voices up. Afterward they
participated in all classes from initiation to the end of the day, and
sometimes, it seemed difficult to stop them as inthe 45 minutes we could not get involved in lengthy discussion as
a whole class strategy; as a result, in further classes, I divided them
into groups where they discussed their opinions. Initially it was very
limited, chaotic but gradually it went quite well.

I
also noticed that my students weren’t working well in groups
especially sharing of ideas with each other. Therefore initially I
had to structure the task with greater details, projecting who would do
what etc. but later with the help of cooperative learning strategy we
overcome this issue together, and students started partaking in turns,
appreciating others’ ideas and managing time etc.

A girl-student shared her thought during post- research interview:
“Our mind cannot get with so many ideas at a time but by group work we
got so many ideas.”

Another participant said, “We
built friendship bond.”

The co-teacher of the class shared her views by saying,
“Each child was participated, and every one shared their ideas through
this group activity. They also learn how to cooperate with each other.”

In addition to this, data indicates that students-centered approach is
supportive in developing positive qualities among students such as
confidence, ability to express, leadership qualities, and sharing ideas.

During
the process of initial action, I noticed that students began to
participate in the given tasks.

As
my critical partner (CP) mentioned “All
took great interest in this. I noticed that even those who don’t
respond frequently in class, also tookgreat interest, one of the students who had problem on phrasing
her sentences, has taking help from her classmates.”

One student shared his reflections during the informal talk, “We
shared what we understood and what we didn’t was explained to us by
our group mates”.

Another significance of the action research is its practicality
where the results and insight gained are not only of theoretical
importance to the advancement of knowledge in the field, but also lead
to practical improvements during and after the research process.

Martin
(2000) has highlighted “Motivation
can be conceptualized as student’s energy and derive to learn work
efficiently and achieve to their potential at school and the behaviour
that follow from this energy and drives” (Pg 35).

During the process, it seemed difficult to respond to all the ideas made
by students due to the shortage of the time, where hardly 25 to 30
minutes time is allocated for a day. For this, I recommended that at
least 45 to 50 minutes to be allocated for certain concepts especially
when a teacher employs discussion strategies where the input of each
child is crucial for further conceptual development. This led to another
intervention where I stretched the plan for my upcoming classes till the
final cycle. As a researcher, I applied
the negotiation strategy with observer teachers and students, and with
their consent, we stretched the class timings up to 60 to 70 minutes to
meet the agreed objective(s). Situational
based is one of the characteristic of an action researchwhich concerned with
diagnosing a problem in a specific context and attempting to solve it in
that context..

I practiced self-reflection and self-assessment in my professional
learning by writing reflections and reviewing my plans to support my own
development as a learner and a teacher. Reflective
practice is defined in a most recent literature as a vehicle through
which one can improve his practices by thinking and rethinking on their
own experiences. As McKernan,
1987 defines that “Action
Research is self-reflective problem solving… which enables
practitioners to better understand and solve pressing problems in social
settings.”

The cyclic model of action research enabled me to bring in connectivity
and monitor progress among learners. Though it seemed a humongous task
in the beginning, all cycles were completed swiftly because of
relativity. This learning opportunity fostered confidence and critical
thinking in me. It inspired me to partake in such challenging
areas where I could model through my own practices some practical
way-out for my fellow educators and teachers at REC.

Can
Students Assess Their Own Learning?

Can
students assess their own learning? Action
research is positive about it!

The
article encompasses my action research that was done in the one of the
schools in
Karachi

The
whole paradigm of teaching will shift if we initiate a discussion on the
question of ‘Can students assess their own learning within and outside
the classroom’? How can they be able to know whether they participate
joyfully in learning and what are the other ways though which they
assess themselves and also enhance their learning further? Besides, it
is also vital to know why is it important for a child to know what s/he
learns, unlearns or relearns as s/he moves across grades and levels of
learning.

According
to the OCC Assessment Definition,Assessment
is an on-going process aimed at understanding and improving student
learning. It involves making our expectations clear to students and
setting appropriate outcomes for learning. It helps determine how well
student performance matches those outcomes. It uses the resulting
information to improve student learning.
In
the words of Airasian
(1994) “the process of collecting, synthesizing, and interpreting
information to aid in decision making is called assessment”.
Assessment therefore includes the full range of information teachers
gather in their classroom; it is this information that helps them
understand their pupils, monitor their instruction, and establish a
viable classroom culture.

The
term “Assessment” cannot be dealt exclusively in isolation because
it is inclusive in nature and has a cyclical process within that. The
term "assessment" is generally used to refer to all activities
teachers use in the class to help students learn and to gauge student
progress. The definition describes that “It is a continuous process,
not a separate activity, which necessarily requires the use of extra
variety of tasks, tests, practical activities and observation” Another
definition suggests that “It is a part of everyday teaching and
learning”. One defines the assessment as “It is concerned with
measuring student’s performance during and following a program of
study”. However “achievement can be seen as gaining mastery over
certain skills, knowledge or understanding of any piece of work”. Thus
it has been proven that assessment in itself is not an end, but a means
to an end.

I
was confronted with this question of assessing students' learning many
times in my career. I chose the similar question to explore via
action research; moreover extension in my research question led it to
explore the implicit and explicit ways through which learning takes
place.

During
my teaching as an action researcher, I was given grade VI, whose teacher
was not properly trained. Though I intended to work with a
qualified and trained teacher eventually, I began my action research
project with that teacher. She was good natured lady and teaching with a
traditional way of transmitting knowledge. This became a great challenge
as I wanted to explore how students can measure their own learning, how
they become partners with teachers in seeking curriculum goals etc. I
therefore had to bring a little modification in my plan.

In
the first phase, through a participatory model, I engaged with students
via interactive teaching methodologies. This took an entire two
months to bring a paradigm shift from the traditional to progressive
mode of teaching and learning. It was regular teaching and I had
forgotten that I was the researcher. I took a new role as teacher.
That teacher and I found that students are no more quiet in the class;
moreover they were interested in what was to be taught or not, and how
through various methods they are questioning the knowledge base
mentioned in the text books, or written material.

In
the next phase, where students have adopted certain traits, they started
becoming critical about the ideas, about various strategies, about the
purpose of studying any theme. Then I initiated my plan to
question their learning. Instead of focusing on replies, our
entire class process was to reflect on questions and that began the
unending debate culture in the class. For simple to complex themes, we
had questions to explore them further. For instance, the initial
first few classes, we debated a lot on the following:

1.What is the role of science in our life?

2.How and why science helps people in various fields of life

3.What is the main difference between the lives of Stone Age
people and modern time?

4.Why did humans started thinking to make some changes?

Gradually,
through introducing various strategies students were able to find out
the reason for every action, thought, or concept etc. I realized as a
researcher that introducing the Portfolio
was a successful strategy as it enabled them to link their daily
learning and maintain a log about it. For instance, students are asking
each other

•Why have I chosen this artifact?

•What standards does it meet and why?

•How has this helped in my learning?

•What did I do that hindered my learning?

•What am I going to do about it (next steps)?

As
a researcher, I used the following methods that informed me about
students' learning and also about how they measure their own improvement
on a regular basis.

Class

Presentation

Oral
reports on project or other investigative activities

Essays/Poems

Written
work in which students try out ideas and arguments supported by
evidence.

Group
work

A
variety of types of assessment done in groups to develop
students’ teamwork skills and/or enable students to undertake
larger tasks than could be done by an individual.

Interview

Verbal
interaction between assessor and assessed

Learning
Contract

A
structured method whereby the student designs and implements
manageable learning activities in consultation with a staff
advisor/teacher

Practicum/Practical
session

Assessment
of practical skills in an authentic setting

Small
Projects

In-depth
exploration of a topic or field

Portfolio

Students’
log about their every day learning

Besides measuring their own learning, the entire process also
facilitated improving students' attendance in the class, their
participation level, and their willingness to engage in learning even at
home as home-assignments. Furthermore, the class teacher worked closely
and appreciated the worth of knowledge she had learned from the entire
process. And finally this created an impact on the overall classroom
environment that made it extremely positive. What is the important thing
is if the teacher has planned and informed, then s/he can engage
students, parents and community and bring any change that is desired.

Decision-Making:
AContinuous
Process
in Teaching

Teaching
is a very conscious activity where one has to deal with diverse learners
at the same time. Though it seems pleasant to deal with such a different
group of learners, it requires a quick decision-making ability of
teachers who deal witha lot of
difficulties and complexities that emerge during the interactions of
lessons. Another aspect for an effective lesson is planning.

It
is very difficult to define and describe the characteristics of good
teaching. In short, a lot of qualifications, credentials,
experiences and efforts are required for a good and effective teacher.
The foremost quality of a teacher is the command on the delivery part of
a lesson - how s/he integrates content knowledge with pedagogical
skills. That is only possible if a teacher has the power of
decision making (the how and into which quantity s/he has to deliver the
lesson.)

WHY:

Decision-making
is a very careful step that helps the facilitator to take selective
actions in the light of sense hypothesis. Itseems unhealthy to pour out all that information and content
material into a student’s mind, but we need to make sure that to what
extent it can be appropriate for the learner’sneeds and the
requirement of that learning content. Sometimes it seems that our
decisions are not suitable in the long run, although it’s
fulfilling/catering the needs of present time. That is why teaching is
recognized as a reflective and thinking based journey rather than a
monotonous way of delivering information. It assists the decision-maker
to take action with thorough reflections on how children learn and what
would be the desired outcomes.

Teachers
often complain that we would not be able to complete our task in the
given time due to the abrupt discussion/s or some new arising questions.
What I personally believe, it’s again an opportunity for teachers to
think that sometimes it is good to proceed as per the original plan, but
being a responsible person, it sounds intelligent to be flexible in
one's planning and accommodating his/her selves as per the need and
desire of the time and context.

The
major responsibility of a teacher is not to just complete the syllabus
but also to make sure that learners produce meaningful outcomes while
simultaneously their personalities are groomed with appropriate
attitudes and skills. That is why the aim of education alwaysleads towards holistic development of a child and all depends on
the willingness of a teacher whose decision plays ‘the vital role’
in the children’s grooming.

HOW:

As
we often heard an old saying, “I am because I am thinking”, this
same theory applies while making a decision because it requires on-going
reflection. An intelligent decision needs a lot of deep, critical and
analytical thinking because if outcomes are expected with deliberate
optimism, then it is necessary for an individual to challenge, analyze
its own idea, practice, see the alternatives, and choose the best one.
For example, a teacher plans a lesson for 2 days and delivers this in
class. Hence this would be called an ordinary teacher. But a
reflective teacher will be in the process of constantly thinking,
"how would Ienablemystudents to
learn the conceptual understandingwith more clarity?How
could I introduce my students
to some newstrategies through
whichtheycouldlearn more in the
most effective manner?" It is also important for the teacher to
pick up any new ideas / information with careful analysis and deliver it
to the learners while asking, "does that make sense to them?"
Therefore, it is also important to collect feedback from students and
then plan as per their needs.

The
child is a natural investigator, if our instructions provide him a LEAD;
we would be able to see the enhancement in the cognitive and behavioral
developments both. Nonetheless, it is not that easy but our instructions
should link with the child’s previous knowledge and the existing
experiences so it would be called meaningful learning.

Multiple
impediments that affect decisions

Dean
Chesham said, “Let me give so
much time to improvement of myself that I shall have not time to
criticize other”

Best
Brains are those that are always in the process of rethinking to
construct new knowledge. I think teachers have the same role in
producing something new but in the process of the production of
something new, they face some hurdles and barriers and those hindrances
often affect their performance and make them slow as well. Therefore
"to make a difference” one has to sacrifice and brings out
positive changes.

Here
are some impedimentsthat
affects effective decision:

Teachers
have lack of freedom to take action on the behalf of the class.

Some
influential parents do not allow teachers to depict
any conclusion from all the students.

Previous
teacher’s decision has long-lasting repercussions and effects.Hence the new class teacher feels uncomfortable in the
beginning to adjust with students and of course his/.her uncertainty
is also apparent with his/her personality.

Some
experienced teachers have high expectations aboutthe newly enrolled students which also may create an
unhealthy atmosphere for children to fulfill their demands

Time
factor is also oneofthe major obstacles, because
the teacher's job is not only to deliver the
lesson, but he/shewould have
tosee the other
administration matterto
run the class successfully apartfrom academic activity.

Sometimes
school policies don’t harmonize with teacher’s perception level
to draw some type of conclusion.

Different
vertical hierarchy could easily be figured out in any school system
but how to delegate powers to subordinates are the missing elements.

If
the internal physical environment of any classroom is seen as a
‘Conducive learning environment’ then may be difficulty for
teachers to bring innovation.

Often
teachers make decisions on her/his behalf while bringing up any new
idea or theory; they do not see any coordination with student’s
previous learning and existing knowledge. Therefore, in the end,
they find an unpredicted result.

Often
classroom seating imposes issues for teachers whether they have to
instructto
the whole class or a particular
group or else an individual

If
teacher collects students' feedback along with self-reflection, the
problem of subject matter concepts could be overcome.

Some
influential students also undermine
teachers and create an uncertain and unpredictable environment, for
which the rest of the students suffer because the teacher tries to
satisfy those who have a highly sound financial background.

How
much teacher engagement with students in class, and to whom he / she
entertain and how many students are been neglecting from teachers.

Classroom
is considered a laboratory
where numbers of experiences take place. However every
experience comes up with the multiple consequences so many times it
seems difficult to manage different behaviors
at one time

If
we have ever noticed that while watching T.V how much we can we
remember about the advertisements? In the same manner, the
teachers encounters with several
behaviors. Therefore, it is difficult to make any decision in
the light of different experience because not all experiences are
recording as a diverse way of learning.

Insecurity
increases among students because at one time how teachers make sure
about the balanced approach while dealing with different
individuals.

Some
Suggestions to overcome the impediments while decision making

Whatever
have been shared in the light of general observation, it is difficult to
find out the solution for all of the impediments because it does vary
from context to context. A smart teacher carefully handles the
problem keeping in mind the diversity and sensitivity as well.